A Better Place To Invest - Why Mexico May be Right For You
Posted by Jeanne Lopez | Leave A Comment »
Saludos amigos,
There’s an old saying that “pioneers take the arrows.” In Baja though, especially when you’re talking about real estate, they don’t take arrows. Rather, they take the profit. With a rocky U.S. stock market, more and more people are considering buying property in Los Cabos as an investment tool. As with property everywhere, the real estate market has its ups and downs. Generally in Los Cabos, the ups are spectacular and the downs are a little more than a few months of stagnant prices.
My husband Steve and I have just returned from another spectacular trip to Los Cabos with a new partner and our Marketing Director for our exciting beachfront luxury fractional home ownership opportunity. We again indulged in the perfect weather, incredible food, breathtaking oceanfront views with even more fun in the sun!!
And I wanted to give you another quick update on our Casa Del Sol fractional home project.
We spent an entire day surveying our new site in Cabo Vinorama Estates and relaxing along the pristine beaches and in the warm waters of the Sea of Cortez.
These are select photos of our beachfront lot:
As you can see, the preliminary work for the property has just begun. We will soon be ready to move forward with the first building phase on the house. It is very exciting to start to see the Casa Del Sol dream begin to take shape.
During our stay, we also had the opportunity to attend the ground-breaking event for a new resort project up the coast that will include a full service marina and 18-hole golf resort.
This future development, located 20 miles north of our Casa Del Sol beach house, is further evidence that this is a region on the move.
If you or anyone you know is looking at truly experiencing the Baja lifestyle, we welcome them to explore this fractional ownership opportunity.
Being avid travelers to Los Cabos for over 20 years, I assure you that one cannot find a similar beachfront product as the Casa Del Sol home without spending more than double our initial offer price.
For more information, please feel free to contact me directly at 858-405-7496 or visit our beautiful website at www.casadelsoleastcape.com.
Popularity: 28% [?]
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FHA Loans - Income and Employment Requirements
Posted by Paul Gonzales | Currently 1 Comment »
This is the third in a series of six posts that deal with important aspects of FHA financing. The first post provided an overview of the program while the second post detailed FHA credit requirements. This post will discuss the income and employment requirements necessary to obtain an FHA home loan.
Income Documentation
For employees this is quite straightforward. Copies of the most recent paystubs covering at least one month and W2s for the previous two years are required. Complete Federal income tax returns for the previous two years may be required as well.
For self-employed people, signed copies of personal tax returns for the previous two years are required. If the business is a legal entity such as an “S” or “C” corporation, partnership or other legal entity then two years of business tax returns are also required. A signed year-to-date Profit and Loss statement (P&L) will be needed to complete the income documentation. FHA guidelines state that 25% or more ownership in a business is considered self-employment.
Types of Income for Employed People
The lender will review the paystubs together with the W2s and tax returns to establish a baseline amount of income as well as stability of the income. In general, if base income is increasing they will likely be able to use the current income amounts. On the other hand, income that is declining over the past two years will result in an averaging of the income. A significant decline in base income will require a written explanation.
- Overtime - to be counted it must have been relatively constant for the past two years as well as currently. There must be the prospect that it will continue and the employer will be required to state that it is likely to do so on a written Verification of Employment. If used it will be averaged over time and added to the base income
- Bonuses - the rules are similar to considering overtime.
- Commissions - will be averaged over the prior two years and must demonstrate reasonable stability; tax returns will be reviewed and unreimbursed business expenses will be deducted from the income
- Child support, alimony and spousal maintenance - such income can be included provided that it can be shown to continue for at least the next three years. It must be documented by a divorce decree, court order or separation agreement and actual receipt of the income documented by cancelled checks, bank statements or other positive means.
- Retirement income - Pension and Social Security income is acceptable and must be documented by award letters, IRS form 1099s and current “pay advices” (stubs). Again, there must be the prospect of continuing for at least the next three years
- Insurance and government income - workman’s compensation, long-term disability or other similar income must be documented and expected to continue for at least three years
Self-Employed Income
Income and expenses will be analyzed from the past two years tax returns and current P&L. The earnings will be averaged over this time period. Income that appears stable or increasing will be considered, whereas declining earnings may not be considered acceptable.
Minimum Length of Employment
Stable employment in the same general field of work or business for two or more years is considered minimum. Going from being an employee to self-employed, even in the same line of work, gets special scrutiny. A person who has been self-employed for at least one year AND has at least two previous years of employed experience in the same field may be considered. Formal training or education in the same line of work during the prior two years may be considered in lieu of employed experience.
The next post in this series will discuss the financial assets and down payment requirements for obtaining FHA financing.
you can contact Paul Gonzales at (800) 775-7334 or paulforloans@aol.com
Popularity: 53% [?]
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San Diego Homes Under $200,000? - Get the Facts
Posted by Diane White | Currently 1 Comment »
Are there really homes in San Diego for under $200,000? Yes there are…over 2,700 of them! And they are located throughout the county.
In fact there are a number of “affordable” homes that under $300,000 (5,800) and an additional 4,400 between $300,000 and $500,000. Listed below are the number of homes available (single family residences detached and attached homes only) in different price ranges as of Friday, 10/24/2008.
Below $200,000
San Diego County: 2,709 Listings
562—Metro Area
226—North County Coastal
603—North County Inland/No East
536—East County
Below $300,000 ($200,000-$299,000)
San Diego County: 3,095 Listings
625—Metro Area
322—North County Coastal
821—North County Inland/No East
453—East County
Below $400,000 ($300,000-$399,000)
480—Metro Area
326—North County Coastal
761—North County Inland/No East
490—East County
Below $500,000 ($400,000-$499,000)
298—Metro Area
229—North County Coastal
555—North County Inland/No East
201—East County
Below$600,000 ($500,000-$599,000)
San Diego County: 1,189 Listings
225—Metro Area
224—North County Coastal
402—North County Inland/No East
115—East County
It may be the perfect time to get into your first home or to buy that investment propety you have always talked about doing. Because of the foreclosures and short sales, prices are down and interest rates are very low.
Contact me for more detailed information on a particular area in San Diego County.
Popularity: 55% [?]
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September Statistics for San Diego Real Estate - Get the Facts
Posted by Diane White | Currently 1 Comment »
Well, San Diego County home sales have not slowed down. September 2008 shows 3,937 Resale Homes are in escrow as of September 30th.
If you take a look at Sandicor’s Statistic Report for last month below, we have currently:
- 11,370 Active Listings in San Diego County
- 3,937 Listings that are Pending (in escrow)
- 1,627 Listings that closed escrow in September
September San Diego County Statistics
Some other very interesting notes:
- DOM (days on market) have decreased from August’s average of 76 days to 65 in September
- SP/LP (sales price to listing price) is now 104% - 4% over asking price.
There are 2 reasons for the SP/LP being over the asking price. One is that bank owned properties are being priced low, which is causing multiple offers and bidding wars. The second reason, in my opinion because I am out there every day, is supply and demand. And it is not just bank owned and short sale properties that are getting multiple offers, I’m seeing it in regular sales as well.
So where did most of the activity take place? Here are statistics from two areas of San Diego County.
- North County Coastal Statistics
San Diego Central Statistics
North County Coastal has 2,029 Active Listings, 555 Pending, and 302 Sold Listings
San Diego Central (from Downtown to UTC) has 1,435 Actives, 605 Pendings and 247 Solds.
Statistics for other areas including:
- Southbay - 1,987 Active, 916 Pending and 259 Sold
- North County Inland - 1,061 Active, 402 Pending and 184 Sold
- East County - 1,371 Active, 589 Pending and 245 Sold
I will be doing further analysis on what is happening with home sales in the county…so please let me know if there are particular areas that you would like me to include.
Popularity: 83% [?]
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